RECONSTRUIRE UN FILM

RECONSTRUIRE UN FILM

From 13/01 to 13/01.

Lecture: RECONSTRUCTING A FILM: The example of *La Prière aux étoiles* (Marcel Pagnol), Wednesday 13 January 2027 at 2.00 pm, Valécien Bonnot-Gallucci, Julien Ferrando (Aix-Marseille University). In 1941, the filmmaker Marcel Pagnol began shooting a new trilogy, *La Prière aux étoiles*, written as a tribute to his partner Josette Day. Under pressure from Alfred Greven, the head of La Continental-Films (a French production company with German capital), Marcel Pagnol abandoned the shoot and sold his studios to Gaumont. His only film made during the Occupation remained forgotten, despite the screenplay being published commercially. In 2023, whilst researching this film, Valécien Bonnot-Gallucci discovered the existence at the CNC of previously unseen reels whose visual elements correspond to a version of the working script held at the Cinémathèque de Corse. A heritage project thus emerged: to piece together the puzzle of an unfinished film. The lecture will outline the research process and report on the restoration of the sound reels undertaken by Julien Ferrando at the University of Aix-Marseille, with the support of Nicolas Pagnol. The lecture will also highlight the professional and family ties that linked Marcel Pagnol to Corsica.